Nicky Singer has written four novels for adults, two books of non-fiction and five works for young people. Her first children’s novel, Feather Boy, won the Blue Peter ‘Book of the Year’ Award and is published in 28 countries. It has also been adapted for TV (winning a BAFTA for Best Children’s Drama) and commissioned by the National Theatre as a musical with lyrics by Don Black and music by Debbie Wiseman. Nicky’s other novels for young people include Doll, The Innocent’s Story and GemX. She lives in Brighton with her husband and their three children. Her website is at www.nickysinger.com.

Nicky Singer Knight Crew

‘A story for this generation . . . written with love, passion and intelligence’ – Benjamin Zephaniah

‘This is a long story and a bitter one, but I will try to tell it as honestly as I can, because I’ve come to understand that what happened wasn’t all my brother’s fault. Nor Lance’s for that matter, nor Quin’s. No – I was as much to blame as any of them. More so, probably, because, in the end, it was my hand on the knife.’

After a gang feud claims its first life, violence escalates. But then the prophetic words of a strange old baglady start to come true, and Art and the girl he loves have one chance to make good, one chance to bring honour and peace to a murderous world. Fierce, tender and unflinching, Knight Crew breathes the passions of ancient legend into a contemporary wasteland – passions that can either create or destroy.

‘A fine but bleak updating of the King Arthur legend, now represented by knife-fighting British gangs. Cleverly worked out and compassionate.’ – Nicholas Tucker, Independent

In 2010 Knight Crew was staged as a youth opera at Glyndebourne: ‘a major achievement’ (Independent), ‘a genuinely superb theatrical experience’ (Gramophone), ‘profoundly uplifting and encouraging’ (The Stage), ‘exhilarating’ (Guardian), ‘a shining beacon of can-do endeavor’ (Musicalamerica.com). A three-part documentary on the making of the opera, presented by Gareth Malone, was broadcast on BBC television in June 2010.